
About Isabella Mendes
Architecture,
image and
work I work.
My work spans architecture, 3D visualization, motion, and spatial design. I've animated immersive installations, built renders that translate a brand's identity into physical space, and developed AI-assisted workflows to push what's possible within a production timeline.
I'm drawn to projects where image and experience overlap. Retail environments that tell a story. Immersive spaces that make people feel something. Visuals that do more than document — they persuade, they set a mood, they make an idea feel real before it exists.
I'm also genuinely curious about tools and technology, not just as a means to an end, but as creative material in their own right. Learning a new pipeline, experimenting with generative AI, understanding how a game engine handles light: that's the part of the work I find endlessly interesting.
I hold a BArch in Architecture and Urbanism and an MSc in Urban Studies, both from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, where my research focused on digital representation and immersive virtual environments.
I have a genuine interest in projects where image and experience intersect. Retail environments that tell a story. Immersive spaces that evoke something. Visuals that don't just document—that convince, that create an atmosphere, that make an idea seem real before it exists.
I hold a bachelor's degree in Architecture and Urban Planning and a master's degree in Urban Planning, both from UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), with research focused on digital representation and immersive virtual environments.
Trajectory
Where I've been.
2024–present
Arquiteta Pleno & Artista 3D — B.CO Arquitetura, Rio de Janeiro
FAU-UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro
Architectural design, advanced visualization, and AI integration.
2023–2024
Product Designer — XMACHINA (LLC), Los Angeles
FAU-UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro
XPERIA: Ocean Journey · HistoryMiami · SUMAC
2021–2023
Arquiteta — B.CO Arquitetura, Rio de Janeiro
FAU-UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro
FARM Rio · Zee.Now · Zee.Dog · Oficina Muda
2018–2019
Estágios em Arquitetura
FAU-UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro
MPRJ · Marco Milazzo Arquitetos · Isabelle Cassani Arquitetura
2022–2024
Mestrado em Urbanismo — PROURB/FAU-UFRJ
FAU-UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro
CNPq scholarship. Dissertation: "Reinterpreting the city: exploring the potential of geometric modeling in Praça XV de Novembro". Defended in June 2024.
2017
Intercâmbio Acadêmico — Politecnico di Milano
FAU-UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro
Arquitetura e Urbanismo
2013–2019
Graduação em Arquitetura e Urbanismo — FAU-UFRJ
FAU-UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro
Final Project: "Immersion and Representation: an analysis of representational media in architecture"
Philosophy
How do I
I think.

01
Rigour with purpose
I begin with research and end with a detail that matters. The technique serves what the space needs to communicate.
02
Image as an argument
A good image doesn't document an idea. It makes the idea inevitable.
03
Technology as material
Digital tools are not ends in themselves. They are instruments for expanding the imagination and communicating visions.